Amid the many videos and other content we brought to you along with our webOS 2.0 review, there was at least one thing we whiffed on, as @PalmFlashCards gently reminded us: the all new App Catalog. Above, we humbly present a video showing the new interface and saner app search, sort, and discovery options. We also take a look at the all new Software Manager where you can get your updates, report problems, and review apps directly.
Thanks for the reminder, James!
Just how much faster is webOS 2.0 on the 1GHz Palm Pre 2 compared to the Palm Pre Plus? We won’t say it’s twice as fast, but it’s close. That’s not the whole story, however, as many of you homebrewers out there are already running your Palm Pre and Pre Plus phones at 1GHz with overclocking.
Is stock webOS 2.0 on the Pre 2 any faster than an overclocked Palm Pre Plus? The answer is ….sometimes. Check out the video above to see what we mean.
webOS 2.0 brings another major feature we’ve been waiting (and waiting) for: Flash! Above, check out the details on how Flash works on webOS 2.0. It’s been a long time coming.
Essentially, the way it works is that when you load a page, the Flash elements are identified as black gradient boxes with play buttons. You can turn Flash completely off or completely on – but the latter is crazy talk.
Once you tap on a Flash element you go into "Flash Mode," which means that all touch gestures and taps are ignored unless they’re inside the Flash box. You can tell you’re in Flash mode because there is a gray border around the Flash box and because the Refresh button on the lower-right changes to an X.
When in Flash mode, rotating the device either way causes the phone to automatically zoom into the Flash element. You can then interact with it by playing the game, hitting play, etc. You can tap that X in the lower-righthand corner to exit Flash Mode and continue to navigate the web page while Flash is still running.
So… How does it work? Actually, it works much better than I expected, which is perhaps not saying much. Once the video or game gets cached up, things seem to move along with nary a hitch. I don’t know how if affects battery life (hint: probably severely if you overdo it), but I do know that I’m glad to say that it’s here (or will be soon) and that’s one fewer thing for webOS fans to have to wait for.
Update: Yeah, we should have thought to try Hulu.com. It loads up pages fine, but unfortunately when you are on an individual episode or clip it doesn’t seem to give up the actual Flash element on webOS 2.0, it’s just a black box. Not a surprise. Thanks for the reminder, commenters!
Among many other things, webOS 2.0 finally brings support for Bluetooth Keyboards to the table. In the video above we break down the steps necessary to pair webOS 2.0 with an Apple Bluetooth Keyboard. We also walk you through what works (and what doesn’t work) once you get paired up. Come on, typists, you know you can’t resist.
Also see our full webOS 2.0 Review!
Looking for skinny on webOS 2.0 and don’t have the time to read our massive webOS 2.0 Review? Look no further – we break down the major features in webOS 2.0 – from Stacks to Just Type to the new Launcher to, yes, Flash. It’s all here.
There are a lot of patches for webOS, but after awhile the most popular ones tend to become apparent until the good folks who create them turn them into ‘Advanced’ patches with lots of configuration options – to the point where they almost feel like full-fledged apps.
Such is the case with Advanced Configuration for App Launcher by Sconix. It basically makes all other Launcher patches unnecessary by offering darn near all of the as configurable options. Want to set the number of icons in a row and their spacing? Check. Want to add pages, name them, and manage their order? Check. Want to hide the QuickWave Launchbar? Check. It’s the kind of patch that makes you want to donate to WebOS Internals.
Be sure to remove other Launcher-related patches before you install it then spend some time tweaking your settings. You’ll be glad you did. New to patching and homebrew? No worries – this how-to article will get you started.
The stock music player in webOS works well enough, but like other native apps (Google Maps is a great example), it leaves much to be desired. Enter Music (Remix) 2.0, an excellent music player that’s currently in beta form in the homebrew gallery, by Hedami Software. Music Remix 2.0 offers a slew of features to be excited about, including: flylists that let you add songs on the fly, a highly configurable homescreen, navigational touches that every music app should aspire to include, a mini player that lives in the notification area, Last.fm integration, and customizable backgrounds that all go a long way towards making this one of the most compelling music apps currently available to webOS.
See what Music Remix 2.0 is all about in the video embedded just after the break.
The final build for Angry Birds on webOS is finished and submitted to Palm (the Pixi version will come a bit later). We have it here at PreCentral HQ and it’s everything you imagined: launching little birds from a slingshot into pig-laden structures.
You’ll need webOS 1.4.5 to run it (which hopefully will be available on more than just Sprint devices soon), but in the meantime we can say it runs just as well on the Palm Pre as it does on the iPhone 4. Better, even, in that if you get stuck you can go check YouTube for some help without having quit out of the game – webOS multitasking at its productive best.
After the break, check out a video of the game in action. After a a short time (we hope), you’ll be able to buy it yourself.
Update: Angry Birds for webOS is now available – go get it!
Thanks, Rovio!